11 thousand visitors to the 2nd edition of the Fujairah Children’s Book Exhibition

FUJAIRAH, 3rd November, 2017 (WAM) – The activities of the second edition of the Fujairah Children’s Book Fair, which was held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah, concluded yesterday evening at the Dibba Exhibition Center, with the participation of 52 local and international publishing houses, amid a wide turnout of visitors exceeding 11,000 visitors, including students, families, and lovers of reading and culture from Fujairah and various emirates of the country.

His Excellency Dr. Ahmed Hamdan Al Zeyoudi, Director of the Office of His Highness the Crown Prince of Fujairah, Chairman of the Exhibition Organizing Committee, expressed his happiness with the great success achieved by the second session of the exhibition, and extended his deep thanks and appreciation to His Highness the Crown Prince of Fujairah for his continued support and sponsorship of this cultural and educational event.

Al-Zeyoudi said that the exhibition embodies the emirate’s vision of investing in people from childhood, by developing a love of reading and knowledge and instilling cultural values ​​in new generations. We succeeded this year in attracting qualitative participation from publishing houses and creators, which reflects the growing cultural position of the Emirate of Fujairah on the cultural map in the country and the world.

For his part, His Excellency Nasser Mohammed Al Yamahi, Executive Director of the Fujairah Culture and Media Authority, Vice Chairman of the exhibition’s organizing committee, stressed that the exhibition represented an opportunity to enhance communication between writers, educational institutions and families, noting that the large turnout reflects society’s awareness of the importance of reading and knowledge as a pillar of development.

He added that the broad interaction we witnessed from students and families strengthens confidence in the continuation of this event as an annual platform concerned with children’s culture and combining fun, learning and creativity.

The closing day witnessed a number of educational, creative and reading workshops that attracted children and families and included artistic and interactive activities aimed at developing the child’s imagination and enhancing his intellectual skills.

In the “Ethics in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” workshop, trainer Basma Fraihat stressed the necessity of teaching children the ethical and responsible use of artificial intelligence technologies, explaining that their role is limited to assisting in learning and not providing ready-made answers. She warned that excessive reliance on them weakens creative thinking and urged directing artificial intelligence to serve society and charitable works.

Writer Anwar Al-Salami presented, through the Dar Al-Muhit platform, a story reading workshop entitled “Al-Kajujah and Umm Al-Duwais”, which is one of the ancient Emirati folk stories that are told to generations with the aim of instilling moral values ​​and warning children against some negative behaviour.

The program included the “Emirates Flowers… Beauty and Heritage” workshop, which introduced children to local plants and the beauties of the Emirati environment, in addition to storytelling sessions that presented diverse and rich content that instilled values ​​and knowledge, and interactive coloring workshops that unleashed children’s creative energies, in addition to the “Lost Book” competition, which stimulated research and thinking skills in an entertaining and educational way.

Since its first day, the exhibition received wide media coverage from various local and regional media outlets that accompanied its various activities and programmes, highlighting the great success it achieved and the knowledge, educational and entertainment platform it constituted that contributed to promoting the culture of reading among young people.

Visitors to the exhibition expressed their admiration for the distinguished organization and diversity of activities that encouraged children’s imagination and creativity, appreciating the selection of quality publishing houses that provided books that combine knowledge and fun.

Parents and teachers confirmed that the exhibition contributed to instilling positive values ​​and strengthening national identity, noting that choosing the city of Dibba to host it was a successful decision that facilitated visitors’ access to it from various regions of the emirate.

The exhibition activities were concluded in a distinguished festive atmosphere, full of entertainment activities and cultural performances, and the distribution of appreciation awards to the public and attendees, with an emphasis on continuing to develop more distinguished and comprehensive future versions that enhance the position of the Emirate of Fujairah as a leading cultural destination in the UAE and the world, and dedicate its role as an incubating environment for creativity, childhood and the world of reading.

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